BNSF puts finishing touches on Memphis yard

BNSF's Memphis Intermodal Facility is set to completely open next month and the railroad is putting the final touches on the multiyear, multimillion-dollar renovation.

Planning for what would be a $200 million renovation began in 2002, BNSF began buying additional land in 2004 for the terminal's expanded 185-acre footprint and construction began in 2005.

The railroad will be able to perform 600,000 lifts a year with an option for one million more if the demand warrants a full buildout of the yard. Five production cranes, at 90-feet tall, twice the height of the old production cranes, and three stacking cranes will do the lifting. In addition to the new electric cranes, which reduce the terminal's carbon footprint, the yard will also have 7,400 feet of track, 2,000 truck parking spaces, the ability to stack more than 6,000 40-foot containers, four new buildings for administration, truck maintenance and other facilities and 110 intermodal employees.